I am quoting good friend Dr. Ben Young (Chief medical officer IAPAC)
"HIV medications prevent disease, death and new infections. So how does your country do with access and guidelines to HIV medications? How about for women, children or key populations? Find out at IAPAC's HIV Policy Watch."
My statement:
I will tell you something. I refused meds for 10 years! In the beginning, because in 1991 I was 18 and they wanted me to take AZT in high dosages and they wanted me to sign a waiver that said it could damage my internal organs. I moved to Colombia that same year and we had nothing there until maybe 1995 when finally the hospitals and some clinics had AZT in large dosages, Zerit and Hivid, etc... all highly toxic and I was listening to the genocides of the dissidents! Thankfully I have many people in my family that are oncologists, etc… many doctors in both sides of my family. One of them I disclosed to and we didn’t even have Viral Load tests then or the internet! NOTHING! So when I started feeling very sick and with a trombocitopenia (platlets at 12 thousand - super dangerous!) and thrush in my throat, I was warned that I was in the red line! Basically my immune system was in shambles! I really do believe that I didn’t die because of all the natural things my mother gave me from her health food store. But NOTHING stopped the virus from destroying me! I tested with 39 t cells and decided to come back to Miami. They retested me and the numbers were the same and this is when I HAD to get on medicine with a month to live!
This is why I am a treatment advocate! It took years to get to my highest cd4 numbers - 489 cd4 cells - and this is with years of being undetectable. I agree that a person should get on meds ASAP no matter what their cd4s are. I eventually got cancer as well! in 2003. And tomorrow I am getting a polyp removed from my cervix. I don’t agree anymore to wait until your immune system is in shambles!
Love and light
To read this blog in Spanish, click here / Para leer este blog en español, presione aquí
